Amnesia
by Shenjitcu
Summary: AU; No Sburb Session John is in denial about suffering Amnesia a year ago after a trainwreck. Dave is breaking because his best friend has forgotten him. The Strider has a chance to speak to John again, and makes a lucky encounter. John slowly regains his memory, but with what follows, would it have been better for the two to have started their friendship anew instead?


**Amnesia**

**A Dave Strider X John Egbert Oneshot**

**WARNING: Canon X Canon, Yaoi, possible OCCness, Alternate Occurrences from the Web Comic, Alternate Universe, and Odd Twists as well as possible Spelling/Grammar Mistakes will be found in this literature. You've been warned-if you don't like these, I suggest you refrain from reading this. **

**NOTE: YumeNoOokami on deviantArt assisted me in writing this; it is based on a roleplay we had. I acted as everyone, with the acceptation of Dave and Rose.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Homestuck or its characters used in this FanFiction, as Homestuck and all of its characters belong to Andrew Hussie.**

**Word Count: 15,753**

_ John was laughing against Dave's shoulder as the train rolled to a stop at a Station-more precisely, the Station Dave would be getting off at. The ravenette pulled back, grinning at the Strider, "See you later, then, Dave." The other only gave a notion in response, which was accompanied by a smirk, before getting off of the train. John felt a bit lonely without his best friend by his side, but it was fine-he would see him tomorrow, and he would talk to him later tonight, so all would be good!  
The young Egbert laughed to himself as the train began to move again, watching the buildings, trees, and other scenes pass by in a wild blur as it sped down the tracks towards his stop. He hardly noticed when a panic erupted among his fellow passengers before one was practically on top of him, pushing at the window he was sitting next to.  
Everything was a commotion, and John didn't understand. "What's going on?" "What's wrong?!" his questions were all lost in the loud voices of everyone around him and the deafening screech of metal on metal. The person that had been pushing on his window eventually broke it open and jumped out. John was panicking, looking around everywhere, though before he knew it, he felt a force on his back and he was tumbling out the window. He barely caught a glimpse of the train he was just in colliding with another before a piece of debris flew out of the explosion and struck him in the head hard, leaving him to black out on the side of the train tracks, half buried in gravel and bleeding from his fresh wound._

* * *

_John shot up into a sitting position, looking around the unfamiliar room frantically. He calmed as he realized he was in a hospital, but began worrying again. Why exactly was he there? He heard a voice to his left and looked over, seeing a male there. He seemed to be talking rapidly, but John couldn't make out his words. He tilted his head slightly-he didn't recognize the platinum blonde hair or the shades. "W-Who are you?" was all the Egbert could choke out, as he found his throat dry. The male looked as if something had just pieced him through the chest, with the pain wince, the knitted eyebrows, and the step back. And then, he ran out.  
The ravenette stared at the door the male had run through. John wasn't sure how long he stared, but he knew as the time passed, his gaze didn't shift. What he suspected was a nurse walked in, and he looked up to her. "Why a-am I here?" he stuttered out, his voice hoarse. He didn't sound like himself. ".. You, you were in a train wreck." she responded before continuing, "You just woke up from an coma that you fell into a month ago." She frowned, a muttered something under her breath. John thought it sounded like "And.. It's likely you're also suffering from amnesia..", but he wasn't sure. And if that had been what she said, he was sure it was incorrect. He recalled his name, John, his age, 16, his address, and how to function. John found what actually happened in his life blurry, but he never had a good memory-or so he thought-so it didn't matter. There was no way he was suffering from Amnesia, he'd know if he was forgetting something!_

* * *

Dave shut his locker after gathering his books. He turned around and leaned on his locker, watching people flood the hallways, jocks in a group, girls in another, frantically giggling and glancing at boys occasionally, but he wasn't looking at them. He had spotted a certain ravenette and kept his gaze, which of course was hidden behind his shades, locked on his movements. Ah, yes. Those shades. His best friend had given them to him before he got in a train wreck and forgot him. That best friend just happened to be the ravenette he was watching, or John Egbert. The bell rang and the students flooded into their classes, but Dave lagged behind for a moment to watch John walk into his class. He felt a twinge of sadness, but it didn't show on his face. Striders don't show expressions. Striders are too cool for that.

John walked into his class and sat right down in his desk, not bothering to talk to anyone, much like everyone else in the class was. He didn't have any friends, or at least, he didn't think he did. Whenever he really thought about it, it made him remember the nurse's words from a mere year ago after he was in that train wreck. _"And.. It's likely you're also suffering from amnesia.."_ John clicked his pen after intervals of eight seconds; he was sure he wasn't suffering amnesia, though he thought it would have be really cool if he had, and like, had a best friend who tried to claim him back-like in a movie! He couldn't help but grin at the thought, but his concentration was broken when the teacher came in. John ceased clicking his pen and began halfheartedly listening to the teacher drone on and on about physics. He was more of a biology person, himself. It wasn't long before the bell was ringing, signaling his next class-gym. He hurried out the door of his classroom, put his book into his lockers, and headed to the locker rooms to get changed. John entered the locker room casually, walking over to his locker and opening it. As he was changing, he tripped and his glasses slid off his face and skid away into the corner by the trashcan. The young Egbert sighed and pulled himself up, carefully walking over and kneeling down, feeling around for his glasses.

Dave heard the bell ring and stood up, leaving the classroom to put his books away and hastily made his way to the locker rooms to get change before all the others got there first. It was weird changing with other guys in the room. Striders don't do that. He hurried into the locker rooms, and walked over to his usual locker, in less of a rush. He got his clothes out and placed them on the bench and took of his shirt. He does it slowly, just for the irony of it. That's what Striders do. Stay cool, and stick to the irony of it all.

Once he grasped his glasses, John stood up, putting them on as he turned and went back to the main section of the locker room, freezing when he saw another male in the room, slowly stripping. His face heated up slightly and he averted his eyes, shaking slightly as he attempted to casually walk out to the gymnasium. This would be so awkward if the other noticed him.

Dave continued stripping as he was, and changing into his clothes as slowly and sexily as he was stripping. He was only half dressed (shirtless) when he heard the door open and close, and he snapped his head over, and to just manage to see someone slip out, but he wasn't sure who. He kept his stoic expression, but was slightly, and silently panicking inside.

* * *

John sat on the bleachers and waited a bit awkwardly for the rest of the class to come in. His cheeks were a bit red still, though they calmed down when someone sat down next to him. "Sup', fuckass?" The ravenette immediately recognized the person as Karkat Vantas. He supposed if there was anyone in this school he considered a friend, it would have to be the person next to him, despite his language. John looked over and smirked very lightly at Karkat, "Not much. What about with you, KK?" The other shrugged in response. The conversation didn't stay dull for long, though, as soon they were talking about buckets, having gotten on the topic by seeing the janitor walk past with his bucket of water and mop. (What a pervert!) It wasn't long before John and Karkat were laughing, getting into heated explanations, and then also bursting into laughter. As class started, Karkat and John got off the bleachers, planning to complete their "Station"-there were several activities set up, and students were able to choose a group and complete them-together. That was, until Karkat's friend, Gamzee, comes over and grabs Karkat, "Motherfuckin' best friend! Come game with Tavros and meee!" "What the fuck-?! Let go of me, fuckass! I'm with fucking dumbass-" Karkat's argument was to no avail, and he was dragged away.

Dave managed to leave the locker rooms before everyone started flooding in. He was leaning on a wall nearby the bleachers, when he heard a familiar laughter, and glanced over, seeing John and Karkat talking. He felt a twinge of jealousy deep in his guts. Of course, he'd never admit that. He'd also never admit he kinda had a 'more than friend feel' for John, but would never admit it, especially after John got amnesia. He was about to approach them when he heard the teacher call him over. It was a substitute, so Dave already knew what it would be about. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and flash-stepped over. " 'Sup, Mr. Jazz?" He said, with a slight nod of his head, already knowing who the substitute teacher was. Mr. Jazz seemed startled for a moment at his speed and impoliteness. He quickly shook it off and gave Dave a stern look. "You should be wearing sunglasses in school, even less so in gym. Take them off and give them to me." He said, with his arms crossed. Dave rolled his eyes behind the sunglasses, which couldn't see. _Substitutes._ He turned so his back was to all the other kids, and raised his sunglasses the slightest bit so only Mr Jazz could see. he was shocked, so say at the slightest, and immediately apologized to Dave, insisting he kept the sunglasses on. Dave smirked and fixed his sunglasses. He shrugged, hands back in pockets. "It's all cool, bro." He said coolly, and walked over to his previous spot leaning on the wall.  
John was a bit upset that Karkat had been dragged away, but he knew Karkat had no say in the matter, and he didn't mind all _too_ much. But he was feeling awfully awkward now, as it seemed all of the other kids had grouped and started their activities. He stood off to the side, shifting his weight between his legs, hoping the teacher didn't notice he wasn't doing anything.

Mr. Jazz looked around at the class, nodding his head repeatedly in approval, until he spotted both John and Dave not participating. Mr. Jazz, having notes on which student was which, glared at them and yelled. "Strider! Egbert! Don't stand around and do nothing! If you don't have a group, work together!" Dave glared at him, mainly because he yelled at John, but nobody could see the glare. He shrugged and walked over to John. " 'Sup? Guess we're stuck together, might as well start." he said coolly, not bringing up anything that had to do with them ever knowing each other.

John shrunk when yelled at him and the other student not participating. He jumped slightly when the blonde, who must have been Strider, came over. "O-Oh, yeah, I guess so." He said, rubbing the back of his head a bit awkwardly, "Uhm, I'm John, by the way, John Egbert." He introduced himself, hoping 'Strider' would do the same as they walked to the only station left, foam sword fighting. Dave nodded at the introduction. "Yeah, I know, we used to hang out a lot." he said, realizing only too late he just dropped a memory bomb on him. "Anyways, since you seem not to remember, It's Dave." He said simply. When he noticed him walking towards the foam sword he smirked. "I think we should wait until another station opens." He said bluntly.

John pretended to not hear the 'we used to hang out a lot', though he was inwardly fretting over it. _What? When? Why didn't he recall?_ He did his best to keep his outer composure, picking up a foam sword (which was actually pretty damn hard) and looking at Dave, an eyebrow quirked. "Why, exactly? I don't mind this station, do you..?" John responded. His head started to pound slightly as Dave's words kept echoing in his head. Dave's smirk stayed unwavered. "It's not that I'm bothered by it, it's more like.. It's a bit of a skill I picked up, but if you insist..." He trailed off and bent over, picking through the swords and finding one he felt was balanced on him and gripped it with a hand and pointed it at John. Smirk still planted on his face, he said coolly, "I will show no mercy, Egbert."

John blinked at at sword, his gaze moving to Dave. ".. If you're trying to act cool, you really don't have to. I mean, the dramatics are very well done, but honestly you sound like a little over confident." He stated simply without really thinking about it. Of course he wasn't thinking about it, he was still hyper-focused on what Dave had said. The young Egbert fixed his hold on his own sword, waiting for Dave to start. Dave rose and eyebrow. "Don't doubt me Egbert. You never know what a man can do, but when their a Strider, you should know to watch out." He said, smirk still on his face. When finished, he immediately flash-stepped to behind john, and swung his sword at his back. He held back his strength a little bit, knowing that foam sword could hurt. After getting in an attack, he stepped backwards, planning to dodge Egberts next attack and and swing under to hit him with the sword again, in the process, he felt his sunglasses slip down his nose and heard them clatter to the ground. He finished his attack quickly and hurriedly, then rushed to pick up the sunglasses on the floor before John saw his eyes. Luckily they were in the corner so there was a little to none chance of someone else seeing his eyes.

Dave's fast movement and the fact he wasn't exactly focused caused John to be completely thrown off. The Strider's first blow caused the Egbert to stumble forward, and, while he tried to, he didn't manage to get a blow in on Dave before he was struck again, only this time with swing seemed rushed, and was a bit to hard. John fell unto his buttox, right in front of the blonde. This inevitably caused the Strider to fall on top of the smaller boy. It seemed like a situation that would be fast, and probably a little loud. But when John's blue eyes met the crimson pools that were Dave's eyes, time seemed to stop, and John was terrified. Not because of Dave's eyes-they were actually beautiful, but because of the the images flashing through his mind. The images of him and a blonde he'd seem in his mind quite a number of times before, a blonde he now recognized as Dave. His gut churned and his head felt like it was split open, pain throbbing harsher and harsher as the seconds passed like hours.

Dave was startled by tripping and flung his arms out to catch his fall reflexively. He felt his hands impact the ground, and was in a position that made it look like he was pinning John down. His eyes were wide, breaking his normally stoic appearance. He rolled over and off of John. He hurriedly stood up and swiped his sunglasses off of the floor, sliding them coolly on his face and his appearance turning neutral once again. Though, he felt a deep bit of worry in his pit. He was looking at John, whose face looked like he was in a great amount of pain. He bent over on one knee, place his hand on John's arm. "John? Are you okay?" He asked, worry showing in his voice. John shifted away from Dave, staring at him wide-eyes, his cerulean depths showing great fear and intense pain. It would have been easy to misinterpret it as fear of Dave, or that the pain came from Dave. That is what it looked like. But what no one knew was that it was all inside John's mind, and the pain was only growing as he saw the Strider in front of him that flashed in his mind. He curled up and rocked slightly.  
Karkat had witnessed the scene from across the room, of course seeing it wrong, and as soon as he saw Dave pin John down, he was marching over to them, beyond pissed. It took some time to maneuver through the people, but as soon as he was close enough, he didn't hesitate to tackle Dave, glaring hatefully at him. "Who the fuck do you think you fucking are!?" Karkat was shaking in anger. He didn't like when people messed with his friends, and John looked so afraid and so hurt, it made something snap in the short boy. "Calm down, beanstalk." Dave said. "Don't ever fucking lay a finger on John again, fuckass! I'm going to fucking-" A sniffle and a whimper made Karkat stop, and in seconds he was off Dave and by John, who had started crying and holding his head. "John?" "Make it stop.. Fuck, it hurts.. It hurts.." John was whimpering under his breath, and his short, temperamental friend was becoming frantic, not completely sure what to do.

Dave was worried when he heard John's words. He watched for a moment as Karkat became frantic, and sighed. "A Strider's gotta do what a Strider's gotta do." He muttered to himself. He walked over to John and, despite Karkat's protest, picked John up bridal style. He flash-stepped over to Mr. Jazz, and his sunglasses slightly slide downs his face. "I'm taking John to the nurses office." He said, the slight appearance of his eyes giving him a cool, sexy, menacing, commanding look that made Mr. Jazz quiver. He added a quick smirk. "Say hi to Rose, Lalonde, for me, when she gets here." He said, quickly adding the last part, and started rushing to the nurses office, getting there as fast as he could.  
John was curled tightly into a ball in Dave's arms, murmuring to himself, tears brimming in his eyes due to the severity of the pain. He clung tightly onto the Strider's T-shirt, much like a young child would to their mother's hand when letting a needle.  
Karkat wasn't all too happy about Dave touching John, and hurried after him, walking beside him, glaring. "Fuckass, you better not fucking hurt him again or I'll fucking make you sorry you're alive." He hissed. Dave squeezed John's arm reassuringly. "Never thought of it." He mumbled, and would probably smile at Karkat right now if it weren't for the situation, and the fact that Dave was a Strider and Strider's don't smile. Karkat raised a hand to John's head as they walked, rubbing it slightly. The blue eyed boy visibly calmed down at the contact, but the slight ease didn't last long and he was coiled in the same amount of pain as before. Karkat frowned, repeatedly hissing "Fuck" under his breath.

* * *

When they got to the nurses office, Dave immediately barged in, not caring if she was busy or not. Fortunately, she wasn't. She immediately rushed over at the sight of John's pain, and rushed Dave to lay him down onto a bed. "Striker, I mean, Strider! What happened?" The nurse asked, who Dave knew. "Roxy, I seriously don't think you should be drinking on the job. Anyways, it seems that John remembered a memory, that he would have utterly not known about if he hadn't fallen, and accidentally tripped me over him, causing him to see my eyes." He said hurriedly, pushing up his sunglasses into their proper position before Karkat got a glimpse. Roxy rose an eyebrow, "Save, no, wait, Dade, aww shit. Dave, no need to lose your Strider cook- I mean, cool. Lalonde will handle this." She said slurred, and pushed them away from John and examined him.  
John suddenly stopped moving, having fallen unconscious from the pain. Karkat was standing right next to the bed he was lying in and noticed he was only unconscious right away, though he glanced over to the drunken nurse, whom he did not trust and rather disliked, because what kind of respectable medical agent drinks on the job, and Dave, whom he didn't know what to think about. Both were much further away than he was, so they likely thought he was, possibly, dead. His breathing was very subtly. Roxy smiled when she noticed their worry. "THis is normal for people recovering from Amnesic-Amnesia. He just need some rats-rest and time to process everthig, I mean, thing."She said calmly, causing Dave o sigh and having his stoic expression reappear. "As expected of Roxy Lalonde, always her best when drunk, except with grammar." He joked with a smirk, noticeably calmer.

Karkat furrowed his eyebrows and looked up, "Dumbass doesn't have fucking Amnesia, fuckasses. He told me so him-fucking-self." He argued. _And even if he did, what would they know about it? _Dave glared at Karkat through his sunglasses. "Well how is someone with Amnesia supposed to know if they have amnesia, dipshit." He said, starting to get angry. "and I know that he has amnesia because he was my best fucking friend before the train crash, that just made him forget about me! Infact, I had to get off a station a few before his because he lived farther away! If I had known that he was going to get caught in a trainwreck, I would have brought him to my house, but fucking NO! Shit doesn't work out the way you want it to, huh, fuckass?" He yelled at Karkat angrily, finally cracking from being unable to spill it out for a year already. He was happy that John was unconscious.

Karkat stared, listening to everything Dave said. "To answer your first question, John told me if he had Amnesia, he'd feel like he needed to remember something, which he didn't." The short boy shifted, "And, Why didn't you just.. Umm.. Make him remember?" He asked, "I mean, like, fuck, it's hard to explain. I don't mean fucking yell or try to convince him.. I mean.. Like.. Fuck, it might not fully work since it's been some time, but do you want me to just fucking show you what I mean?" Karkat asked, glaring slightly at Dave with flushed cheeks. Dave sighed and calmed down. He looked at Karkat with a frown and a saddened expression, which was hard to make out with his sunglasses on. "Well, fuck, KarKat. Don't you think that if I could, I would have? He avoids me so I don't even have a chance, and even now during gym, when I did have a chance, he cringed in pain at the sight of my eyes." He said, murmuring the last part quietly and looked away. "I just don't know what to do anymore, so I don't." He mumbled, highly restraining himself from crying out, and ending up sobbing with his face buried in John's bed. Fuck no. Striders don't do that. Don't even think about it. Striders can't cry. they have no tear ducts. Strider's don't cry, they're to cool. It's not crying, it's just sweating from their eyes- Oh fuck it. He let a tear slip down his cheek.

Karkat listened to Dave very patiently, making sure to not comment on the tear, before moving himself up to sit 'Indian style' on John's bed, placing the boy's head in his lap. With his index finger, he drew imaginary lines on John's head, that weren't so imaginary after all. They were the dividers of the different sections of the brain. He placed a hand over one section, the memory section, before looking up to Dave. ".. This will hurt him a little bit, but not for long and much less than the pain he'll feel remembering otherwise, and he'll need to be fucking watched over with the eyes of a fucking hawk." Karkat stated, his voice softer and quieter than it normally was, but not all too much. "Is that alright by you?" Dave quickly wiped his face, acting as though he didn't let that tear slip. He nodded at Karkat slowly before noticing something odd. "Where in hell did Roxy go?" he pointed out confusedly, though still keeping his eye on Karkat and John carefully.

Karkat shrugged in response to Dave-he wasn't really paying all too much attention to the Strider now. He mapped out the area on John's head that was corresponding to the area of his Cerebrum, the part of his brain that stores memory. He carefully moved his thumb in patterns that seemed random, though he was following the paths of different electrical impulses that made the brain function correctly, his gentle massage altering the pathways. Karkat was very, very focused and took great care in what he was doing, as if he did something wrong, there were quite a few disastrous effects it could and likely would have. His thumb stopped at a certain point, the point that was locking off his old memories. He pressed his thumb down slightly, rubbing it back and forth over a very, very small area and in circles. John's unconscious body tensed slightly, before going limp again. Karkat stopped, and was now simply petting the Egbert's head. "When he fucking wakes up, he'll have some minor fucking memory lapses for a while." He stated somewhat absentmindedly, looking to Dave. Dave stared questioningly st Karkat, but shook it off and it was replaced by the normal Strider face. "And when do you expect that to happen?" Dave asked, eyeing Karkat's hands.

Karkat's expression was his usual grumpy look, though his voice was more neutral, not matching his expression. "Once a day for about five fucking weeks." He responded, "Possibly twice a day, but that isn't fucking likely. The time fucking varies from person to person." He continued somewhat absentmindedly petting John's head, "But don't fucking do anything to make him remember, like fucking push it with what you say. Then the memory lapses will hurt as fucking much as they did today, if not worse depending on the fucking memory." Dave leaned against the wall and smirked. "I never had the thought." He mumbled, and his smirk disappeared after saying it. "But dude, you are really looking like a pervert right now, with the whole petting John's head thing right now." Dave eyed Karkat's hands again. Karkat deadpanned, but didn't get to respond before Roxy came back in, giggling. "D-Dice, err, Dave, Kitkat, Katkat.. K-Karkat, you have to get books-back-to class. Eels.. I'll watch J-John." The short time bomb who's name was misstated twice looked at her wearily, not fully trusting her, or more, not trusting her at all to take care of John.

Dave trusted Roxy, and simply shrugged, and then saw Karkat's look. "Dude, it's okay. If Roxy's here, it means Rose is, so Roxy will be forced to stay out of trouble." He explained, and dragged Karkat out without a response, Eyeing Roxy warily on the way out. After they were far away from the nurses office, he let go of Karkat. "Gym's out already, so I don't know where you need to go. Anyways, I'm not changing back." He said, and started walking away and towards his class.

* * *

The bell rang to signal the dismissal of all classes for the day-school was over until tomorrow. Karkat was currently in the nurse's office, talking to Roxy a bit, and paging through files. John's files, more specifically. He found that John lived alone, and so, he would most definitely have to stay with someone else until all of his memories returned, and while Karkat was willing to be that someone-anything for a friend-he was waiting for Dave to stop by. He was fairly certain the Strider wouldn't be happy if he wasn't at least allowed a say in where John went, so the short Vantas was planning on giving him that say. This time.

Dave was just about to head to the nurses office from his locker when he noticed Rose. "Yo. Lalonde, how's it going? Why were you late?" He asked, and they manage to get into an indepth conversation. They both ended up at the nurses office, and it surprised Dave to see Karkat here already, and looked at Rose, who just shrugged. Dave entered, not showing his surprise, and just wearing his normal stoic appearance. " 'Sup?" He asked, putting his hand up as a wave and then quickly putting it back into his pocket. Karkat looked up from the files and smiles very small when he saw Dave. "I was just fucking going through John's files, and it turns out he fucking lives alone. So, he's gotta fucking stay with someone until his memories are fucking all back. He has an older cousin, Jake English, our English teacher, whom he could fucking stay with, but I'm open to letting him stay with my family and I-they wouldn't fucking mind. But I thought I'd leave it up to you, Strider-fuck."

Dave rose an eyebrow. "Your family..?" He asked wearily. The thought of a family that could possibly be related to Karkat made him unimaginably freaked the english teacher? Didn't he carry guns around with him everywhere? Dave sighed and shook his head. "I think it might be best if he stays at my house." and have a smuppet pushed in his face whenever he wakes up. He didn't say the last part. Karkat nodded, "Do you need any fucking help transporting him to your house?" He asked.  
Dave just nodded, seeing as that he didn't have his car today, and there was no way in hell he would be taking the train. Karkat nodded, taking out his car keys, "Then I'll fucking drive you," he said, picking up John's bag, which Roxy had packed for him, and his own. He looked over to Dave, "If you're ready, fucking get John and we can go." Dave looked at Rose and shrugged. "Guess I'm leaving then. See ya." He said, and picked up John, by wrapping his arms around John with john's arms over his, or it looked like they were hugging but since Dave was taller than him, John was dangling. Karkat didn't question Dave's odd manner of carrying John, and instead simply carried on walking. Dave carried John out and followed Karkat nonchalantly, as if no one was looking at him and his odd way of carrying John. "Are you even tall enough to drive?" He asked Karkat suddenly.

They were exiting the school when Dave's question came, and the Vantas almost stopped, "Of course I'm fucking tall enough.." He grumbled, not mentioning that his car's driver seat was specially modified so he would be able to drive it properly. Dave looked around. "So which car is yours?" He asked, not being able to entirely look around because of John's head. He expected it to be some crappy old car you'd see a senior citizen driving. "The fucking black Lamborghini with the grey fucking Gemini symbol on the hood." Karkat replied simply, completely going against what Dave thought the Vantas's car would be like. He opened the car door for the Strider, as the other was holding John. "You can either fucking lie him in the back or fucking hold him the whole ride, your choice." He stated as he tossed the school-bags into the car.

Dave just nodded and laid John down carefully in the back, and then took his own seat. "Yo, how'd you manage to get such a sweet ride?" He asked Karkat. Karkat slid into the driver's seat, starting up the car. "Everyone in my family fucking has their own. We, you know, won _the fucking game._" He stated before reversing out of the parking spot and heading out of the parking lot. "So, where do you live?" Dave was silent for a moment at the comment on the game, but then told Karkat his address, which really was a long ways from school. Karkat nodded, "Ahh, you live up my way, only much fucking closer than my house." He stated, driving a bit faster than he probably should have, but not getting pulled over or into any accidents, or even near accidents. Dave was about to say something to Karkat, when he heard John make a noise. He looked at him, and it looked as though he was having a nightmare. _Aww shit. That's so fucking adorable. What did Dirk used to so when I had nightmares again?_ Dave reached over and patted John on his head. "Shit.. umm.. Calm down..?" He said to John, unsure, and then immediately pulled his hand back.

Karkat rolled his eyes at the noise, carelessly gripping the steering wheel of the car. "He's fucking fine, Strider. It's called a nightmare. Everyone fucking has them, and you can't stop them. ... Unless you'd like to take a shot and fucking mapping out his brain waves like I did earlier." Young Vantas shook his head to himself and parked the car, "We're here, by the way." Dave looked out the window. "Alright. I hope Bro's not home.. and that John isn't afraid of heights suddenly.." Dave said, saying the last parts quietly. He got out of the car, and grabbed his and John's school bags, slinging them over his shoulders and picking up John princess style. He shut the door with his foot, and nodded at Karkat as a goodbye, and strode over to the door of the large skyscraper. Karkat nodded back before driving off.

Dave walked into the lobby, and opted to take the elevator to get to the top floor. He slipped into the elevator as it opened, and he and john took up all of the space, causing a few people to complain. He figured the door would be open, and it was, so he just kicked it and it flew open, and Dave was greeted by a smuppet making impact on his face, then falling limply to the ground. "BROOO!" He yelled .

* * *

John groaned slightly as he came to, holding his head. He sat up and looked around, eyes widening slightly when he realized he had absolutely no idea where he was. Though, all it took was seeing an odd stuffed puppet for his head to hurt again, not as bad, and some memories came flooding back.

Dave's AJ, which was usually in the closet, had not been there when he got home, so he was scouring the house for t, and at the moment he was in the kitchen. "Bro! Where the hell did you put my apple juice?!" He yelled, not knowing where Dirk was, but knowing he was here. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed John was awake. Dave had already changed out of his uniform and into his normal long sleeve T-shirt with red sleeves and a cd in the middle. He was wearing normal black pants and was barefoot. He was always wearing the sunglasses though, but since he was looking for the AJ, they were pushed up on his head. He looked at John, who was on the couch, and leaned against the kitchen counter. "How are you feeling?" He asked coolly, as though he did not just yell out angrily. John looked over to Dave, the aching in his head going away. He quirked an eyebrow, "Fine, but, uh, Dave.. Why are you here? Do you know Dirk?" He asked. It had simply come back to him that the Smuppets on the floor belonged to Dirk, his cousin's boyfriend and his gym teacher. He wasn't sure how he had forgotten that he was actually pretty close with Dirk, but he remembered now, and recalled the house. He just wasn't sure why Dave would be there.

Dave looked at John with shock and his expression changed and he started looking greatly pained. "Dirk is.. He's my brother." Dave choked out. He shook his head sadly and walked over to the door that led to the roof and opened it. He glanced back at John, but then back through the door. "I'll be on the roof if you need me." He muttered, not even trying to look at John when he spoke and walked up to the roof. John frowned after Dave. He was confused, highly confused. He didn't know Dirk even _had_ a brother, but he also didn't understand why exactly Dave had looked so.. Hurt.. When he didn't seem to remember him. John carefully stood, torn between going after Dave and not going after Dave.

"Hey, lil'Eggbert." John looked over to see Dirk looking at him, or so he suspected-the shades didn't exactly show hsi eyes. "Oh, hey, Dirk." He greeted with a smile, then frowned slightly. "Why didn't you ever tell me you had a brother around my age?" He asked and Dirk seemed confused. "Huh? You mean Dave? John, you've known Dave since you were three, I thought telling you about him would be kind of.. Useless." John's frown deepened and he furrowed his eyebrows. ".. Dirk, I just met Dave today. I'm pretty sure I'm not three."

Dirk stared at John before taking the younger boy's wrist, dragging him into his room and sitting him on the bed as he rummaged around in the closet. John sat there awkwardly, noting the several Smuppets and My Little Pony posters littered around everywhere. Dirk finally came and sat next to him, a large photobook that simply said "DAVE and EGBERT" on the front of it. The older Strider flipped it open, the first picture two young children playing on a see-saw, and John noticed the two kids were him and Dave. His head started to pound again, with the same pain he felt earlier when he saw Dave's red eye and memories came flooding back. The pain only grew worse and worse as Dirk obliviously flipped the pages. The last picture looked extremely recent, and it was of him and Dave waiting for the train. And that is when the pain exploded worse than before and John cracked, jetting out of the room. He didn't get far before he collapsed on the floor of the Living room, curled into a ball, crying. He screamed in agony as his mind tried to keep out the memories that were trying to force their way back in.

* * *

Dave sat on the edge of the roof, leaving his long legs to dangle and let out a choked sob. Dave took off his sunglasses and placed them carefully down next to him before burying his face in his arms. "Why in hell.. did he remember Dirk before me? They barely even talked.." Dave choked out. "God dammit Egbert.. Why did you have to do this to me?" He sobbed, unable to hold in any of his storming emotions. "Dave?" Dave was surprised to hear a familiar female voice, and whipped his head around and saw Rose. he turned so he wasn't facing her and wiped his face of the tears. "How'd you get up here?" He asked quietly, and Rose sat down silently next to him. "I saw you take John home and I got worried about you." She said, already knowing everything that had happened. "and I walked up the fire stairs. They are conveniently always left down." She explained. Dave had picked up his sunglasses and was fumbling with them in his hand. She put her hand on Dave's shoulder encouragingly. "What happened?" She asked, and Dave looked at her with sad eyes. "I was surprised by it myself.."

Dave sighed and looked up at the sky. "He remembered Dirk before me. Dirk, who had no real relations to him besides being my brother and his cousin's boyfriend, was remembered first." He muttered, absolutely devastated. He buried his face in his hands again to hid his expression. "Striders don't cry dammit." He muttered to himself. Rose squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation. Karkat was the one to help you, no? Why don't you ask him?" Rose advised Dave.

Dave's head shot up and he felt shivers run up his spine. "I think Dirk just did something he shouldn't have." He said, and immediately regretted it, because as soon as he did, he heard a scream that sounded like John. He got up immediately and ran down the stairs that lead to the roof from the living room, and he ran into the living room. He saw John on the ground in pain and immediately ran over to him and kneeled down, putting his hand on his arm. "Dirk, what the hell did you to John!" He yelled angrily and stood up, facing Dirk's room. Dirk popped out of his room, photo book in his hand. He frowned, "I don't know!" He defended, "I just.. Like.. Showed him my photo book of you two. He said he didn't know you.." Dirk was completely oblivious to the fact John had Amnesia.  
Meanwhile, John was clutching at Dave's hand tightly, the tears coming in greater quantities. Dave frowned. "He had amnesia after the trainwreck. He doesn't remember me whatsoever, and is in pain when he remembers something," Dave paused for a second and motions to his eyes, which were noticeably red from his crying, "and whenever he sees my eyes." he growled, angry as fuck. He crouched back down, and tightened his grip on John's hand for a moment. "I was told not to do anything to invoke his memories, and then you do it." He said, more calmly, but still noticeably angry.

Dirk frowned, taking a small step towards Dave, concern evident in his features. "Dave.. Why didn't you ever tell me?" He asked, but his eyes flicked to John when said Egbert let out a pained whine. By the look on John's face, it was obvious that he was trying his best to keep quiet and seem strong, but wasn't able to with the amounts of the pain. Dave had his eyes locked on John's face. "I could never find the right time to tell you..and.. whenever I think about the fact my best friend forgot me.. my heart feels like it just got ripped to pieces.." He admitted. Rose silently slipped into the room when they weren't paying attention and was watching curiously.  
John reached his other hand up to take the same hand of Dave's that his other hand was clutching. He pressed the other's hand to his forehead, gritting his teeth. _Dave, Dave, Dave. Strider. Dave Strider. Dirk Strider. Brothers. Dave is.._ John's memory couldn't piece together anymore, as his subconscious fought off further memory return. Dave winced slightly because John was holding his hand so tightly. Dave flipped his hand over so his palm was rest on his forehead, and rubbed circles in his head with his thumb. He shushed him softly, and said, "It's alright, John. I'm here. I'm here for you, forever and always. Don't stress yourself." Dave mumbled to John, hoping the others wouldn't hear.

John visibly calmed, leaning into Dave's touch. His tears gradually stopped and his body went limp, though he still had a firm hold on the Strider's hand-though he was no longer squeezing it. His cerulean eyes opened very slightly, still a bit teary from having cried, the teariness blurring the red stress. He stared at Dave's hand for a moment before closing his eyes, falling to an unconscious state.  
Dirk was frowning, feeling horrible for not being able to help Dave. Striders were not touchy-feely or comforting, they just understood. But Dirk hadn't been able to just understand, he hadn't even thought anything was wrong. He felt like a horrible brother. Rose walked over and stood next to Dirk, elbowing him. "Put your hand on his shoulder reassuringly." She muttered so only he could hear. Dirk looked over to Rose and nodded, mumbling a "Thanks." to her before going over to Dave, placing a hand on his shoulder and offering a reassuring smile to his little brother. Dave looked at Dirk's hand, then at his face and nodded at him. Dave then looked at Rose. "Did you bring my sunglasses?" he asked Rose, ho nodded and walked over, handing them to him. Dave slipped on his sunglasses, and nodded a thanks to Rose. "Did things get complicated?" She asked, and Dave looked at her with a smirk. "Very."

Dave put his arm under John's legs and picked him up. Dave sat on the couch, laying John down and rest John's head on his lap. "At least let go of my hand when you fall unconscious.." he mumbled, still rubbing his thumb in circles on his head. John unconsciously leaned into Dave's touch.

* * *

When John woke up, it was dark-probably sometime around midnight or in the AMs. He looked to the warmth he held in his hands, to find it was someone else's hand. He turned his head to look up to Dave, as he was still in the other boy's lap. John thought about moving, because it was awkward-or, it should have been. It didn't feel awkward at all. He felt perfectly peaceful, and it confused him slightly. But his head still hurt a bit and he didn't want to agitate it, so he simply turned over onto his side and pressed his face into Dave's belly. John didn't fall asleep again, he just laid there happily.

* * *

Dave's eyes opened sleepily, he felt the light on his face from the window. He yawned and stretched with one arm, still feeling his other arm's hand in John's grasp. His eyes stung and hurt from the sobbing he did yesterday, and took off his sunglasses, placing them on the arm of the couch, and rubbed his eyes. "Dammit," He said, taking in a deep breath, "Striders aren't supposed to cry.." He finished, releasing a long sigh. He stopped rubbing his eyes, and the sclera of his eye was red from the tears and the eye rubbing. He had fell asleep sometime around eleven at night, and still felt drowsy, so he continued leaning against the coach. Besides, he had John in his lap. He could feel the heat of Johns breathing through his t-shirt and on the skin of his stomach. Wait. He felt John's breath? But John was facing the other way when Dave laid him down. Dave looked down at John and smirked. John must have turned in his sleep. Dave relaxed, but sighed again, and rubbed his temples. "Yesterday was so crazy.. I'm just glad your okay.." Dave mumbled to John, thinking he was still sleeping.

John shifted, keeping his face pressed into Dave's belly. His was a bit grateful his face couldn't be seen, because it highly resembled a tomato. He nervously mumbled a "Thank you.." against Dave, thought wasn't sure if it was heard, or if the Strider would take it as him talking in his sleep or not. _Wait.. Don't we have.. School today? _Dave blinked and blushed lightly dusted his face at John's slight mumbling. "Ah, so you're awake?" He asked surprised. He looked at a clock. "Ah. it seems we missed school. Oh well, Dirk should've woken me up." He pointed out and shrugged, not really caring. he grabbed his sunglasses and put them on, before John saw that his sclera were red. He didn't let go of John's hand, and didn't mind him still being in his lap. Dave just grabbed the TV remote and started flicking through channels after turning on the TV. John replied simply with "Mmmhhmmm", but didn't make any motion to move, nor did he turn to watch the TV. The events of yesterday flashed through his mind, and guilt pooled in his stomach. "I'm sorry, Dave." He once again mumbled against Dave's belly.

Dave blinked, and then muted the Tv. He put the remote down and looked at John. "Egbert, there is nothing to be sorry about. In fact, I should have told Dirk not to invoke your memory..No.. I should have explained you had amnesia.. So.. i guess I'm sorry.."Dave said, kind of awkwardly since he wasn't used to it. John shook his head and rolled so he was looking up at Dave, "No, Dave.. I.. I'm sorry, really. Y-Yesterday.. I.. The memory was about you.. But it hurt so much.. I just.. I'm sorry." He looked Dave in the eyes, "I hurt you.. And I could have fixed it.. But I wasn't strong enough, so I'm sorry." Dave squeezed John's hand and made a small, faint, barely noticeable smile. "As long as you're still my friend, I can wait." he said softly, looking John in the eyes. Dave felt his heart squeeze and his stomach clench. Of course he wanted John to remember him. He wanted that immediately. The fact that it didn't happen is tearing his insides to pieces. This would be visible to John if he could see through the shades at Dave's eyes.

John squeezed Dave's hand back in response, smiling sadly, "You don't have to hide the fact it upsets you, I can already tell, Dave." He stated calmly. He wasn't sure how he knew, he just did. Little did the young Egbert know, however, that it was only because he did regain a small portion of him memory of Dave that he could tell this. He didn't recall his friendship with Dave; though, it was almost as if he had talked to Dave and the latter had blurted all of his mannerisms and distinct quirks that give away his facade. Dave's eyebrows furrowed and he frowned. "I guess I should know you can, but I try to hide it anyway.." He mumbled, loosening his grip on John's hand so much, that if John wasn't still holding his hand, they technically wouldn't be holding hands anymore. Dave looked away and at the wall. "But it's not like you could figure out everything.. Whether you could remember me or not, there was one thing you never figured out, and I don't plan on letting you know." He mumbled. _You'll never understand my love, now that you don't know me. And I won't make you try, because that will only hurt you. _John shifted to sit up next to Dave. He furrowed his eyebrows-he hadn't been able to hear the last thing the Strider said. John opened his mouth to ask him to repeat himself, when a loud ring came from his school bag. His face went beat red-he thought he had that thing on silent! He kind of just stared at his bag, as if waiting for permission to get the phone. He wasn't sure why.

Dave looked at John's school bag and smirked. "I bet you that's Karkat." He joked, squeezing John's hand slightly, and then letting go. "Better not leave him waiting, or he might freak out. I need to ask him something as well." He added. He was going to take Rose's advice and ask Karkat about it. John nodded and popped up, shuffling around in his bag and pulling out his phone. It was, indeed, Karkat. He answered and held the phone about four inches away from his ear. "OH DEAR FUCK, JOHN EGBERT WHY ARE YOU NOT FUCKING AT SCHOOL!? Don't tell me.. OH FUCK WHERE IS STRIDER? FUCK FUCK FUCK, THAT FUCKASS INDUCED MEMORY LAPSES, DIDN'T HE?! GIVE HIM THE GOG-DAMN FUCKING PHONE RIGHT NOW." It was obvious that Karkat didn't really know, he was simply assuming due to lack of faith in Dave. John couldn't help but laugh at the frantic-ness of his friend as he pulled the phone to his ear, sure Karkat was done yelling. "Karkat, I'm fine.. I just overslept." Dave had stood up and silently walked to stand behind John who didn't notice. "It wasn't my fault my bro's an oblivious dolt!" he said into the phone, standing directly behind John, and leaning in closely to make sure Karkat hears him. "God, you never trust me." He said, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms.

".. So there WAS an induced memory lapse? Then I fucking had a reason for my fucking lack of faith!" Karkat's voice wasn't angry anymore, it was more a bit teasing, as if at first he was just frantic and annoyed and now was letting light onto the actuality of how he felt. "Haha, fuck, tell your bro he's on my fucking shit list-" "Noo! Karkat, Dirk is nice!" John giggled slightly, but Karkat didn't play along-instead, he was quiet, "John, could you give the phone to Dave, and then not follow him?" Karkat didn't curse, a rare occurance, and John furrowed his eyebrows before turning and holding the phone out to Dave. Dave raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and took the the phone. "Go somewhere where you can fucking talk and John won't hear." he heard Karkat say. He was planning to, but didn't say anything. He turned to John and motioned his hands in a way that meant that he'd be right back, and walked to his room and shut the door. "Karkat, you have a lot of fucking explaining to do." he said bluntly as soon as the door was closed.

If it were possible to hear motions over a phone, Dave would have heard a loud rolling of eyes from Karkat. "I figured as much, fuckass. It's easier if you tell me what I should explain though, so I don't fucking waste time explaining something unnecessary. The more time this takes, the more likely it is that John will get fucking suspicious-that's a bad thing." "Is there anything I should know about the order of him remembering? Because he remembered my fucking brother at the sight of a smuppet. He barely came in contact with Dirk in the past and he remembered him before me!" Dave said, slightly yelling. He was sad about it, but also extremely angry. He wasn't angry at Dirk though. There was no reason to blame him.

Karkat was completely calm, "And that is exactly why he remembered Dirk first. John can't remember everything at once, it would put his mind under far, far too much stress. So, he'll remember the small pieces of his memory first. Thinks he can remember without there being room for gaps. The things that took up the least in his life are what he will remember first, unless a memory lapse is induced. The things he'll remember last are the things that meant the most to him and, or, took up the majority of his capacity to remember. It is simply logical as it assures he will undergo the least amount of mental or bodily stress possible-it's something his brain works out on its own." He stated, again refraining from cursing. "I found that fact trivial, but I suppose it wasn't. Anything else?"

Dave was silent for a moment, then smirked. "Why are you so possessive and protective over John? Oh! Do you want me to send you a picture of his sleeping face?" Dave asked, jokingly. He found it hilarious what a good friend Karkat could be, and found it fun to pick on him once in awhile. Again, if only motions could be heard. Dave would be hearing the awkward sound of a blush, "He's my best friend, and a p-picture of his sleep f-face?! F-Fuck, Strider, shut up it's nothing like you're fucking implying. Anything a-actually fucking relevant?" "Well, this isn't a question, but I'll warn you. Me and John will probably be hanging out more often, so don't complain or get lonely." Dave said, still smirking, but now he's leaning on the wall. "Anyways, I gotta go. I'm gonna give the phone back to Egbert." He said, and opened the door to give the phone to John.

Karkat grumbled an "I won't" to Dave before the phone was given back to John. John looked bored when Dave came out, though when he noticed the other, he perked and grinned simply to have company again. He took his phone back and put it to his ear in case Karkat was still there, which he suspected he was, though the young Egbert also reasoned his friend would have to go pretty soon, since lunch period didn't last forever. "This you, John?" Karkat's voice came, "Yup." "I have to fucking go because lunch if about the fucking end, so, er, talk to you fucking later and see you tomorrow, I guess. And don't take any shit from Strider-fuck, k?" John couldn't help but giggle, even if it was a little girlish, and nod, "Of course, Karkat. Bye." John put his phone away after hanging up, still giggling a little, but calming down. He looked over to Dave, "How long have you known Karkat?" "Well, basically everyone knows the family because of their exotic appearance, So I've known him since he came. I've only came in contact with him a few times since then, but I guess this really has been the most I've come in contact with him." He explained, not adding the part that he already has him in his chumroll on pesterchum. He had gotten that a long time ago, and Dave rarely used that since the trainwreck. He really didn't talk to Karkat on it though. iWell. That's gonna change now./i

John nodded, "I would've thought you've known him longer, it seems like you two have a love hate relationship that's pretty intricate." He stated, smiling slightly. Dave shrugged and sat down on the couch. "Eh, I guess you could call us bros." He said, and unmuted the Tv, flipping through channels again. "If you're hungry, feel free to get something from the kitchen- Try to avoid the swords." John nodded, but tilted his head(super adorably) and quirked an eyebrow at the mention of swords. "Swords..? Dave, why would there be swords in a kitchen?" He asked, a hint of confusion in his voice.

Dave gave John a look. "Are you sure you remember Dirk?" He asked. seeing as swords should be a significant part of remembering Dirk. "Anyways," Dave stood up and walked into the kitchen, "Want anything?" He called over, and opened the fridge, only to jump back and curse under his breath. A bunch of weapons had fallen out of the fridge and were on the floor in front of him. He looked at John. "This," He said motioning to the swords, "is what I meant." John nodded, "Yeah, I do, and I know he likes swords, I just don't get why they'd be in the kitchen." He replied, following Dave into the kitchen, opening his mouth to respond again, but only managing to laugh when the swords fell out of the fridge. "Hahaha, why were those even IN there?"

"Don't ask me." He grumbled, and picked them up. He threw them into a pile of smuppets lying on the ground. "So that's where he put my AJ." Dave grumbled, and took out a small bottle of AJ. He also took out a can of soda, assuming it was what he wanted, and handed it to him. He shut the fridge, and reached up to the top of it and grabbed a bag of chips. "At least he's at school. We don't have to deal with Lil' Cal, at least." John gratefully took the soda, nodding a thank you to Dave. He raised an eyebrow, "Lil'Cal-" and then he remembered and almost had a heart attack, looking around frantically before he processed the last part of what Dave said. He sighed in relief, "That thing's freaky," he commented, "but the only thing that makes it scary is how it pops up randomly.." John mumbled, walking back to the couch with Dave.

Dave plopped down on the couch. He suddenly had an idea. "Yo, Egbert. Wanna invite Karkat over after school?" He asked, pretty sure that John still wasn't completely comfortable around him yet. John felt comfortable around Dave-for some reason he had absolutely no idea about-but he thought it would be fun to have Karkat there. He smiled, "Yes! I mean, is it okay if he comes over?" He asked-he didn't want the offer to be forced or anything, especially not for his sake. Dave nodded. "Yeah, sure it's fine. Anyways, wanna play a videogame? I bet I can bet you." He asked, remembering when they used to play videogames all the time. Of course, He didn't state that he remembered that. John smiled, "Then I'll text him a little later to invite him." He stated. He seemed to glow at the idea of playing video games, smirking slightly. "Of course! And I'll take you up on that bet, Strider. Just don't let your ego get too bruised when I beat you, 'kay?" Dave smirked. "HA! Striders don't lose. Don't forget that Egbert." He said coolly, and handed John a remote, and turned on the console. "Super Smash Brothers Brawl, or Mario Kart?" he asked, having plenty of other games, but only gave his favorite two as options.

John chuckled, "Mmm, Mario Kart." He decided, fixing his position on the couch to be his gaming position, turning on his Wii remote and holding it horizontally. He was determined to beat Dave. Dave nodded and put the game in the console. He plopped on the couch and started the game, choosing his favorite character and ride. He waited patiently for John to chose his. The course was random, so they didn't have to worry about that. John looked over the options before choosing the driver and the car that he liked best. Text flashed at the bottom of the screen, "PRESS 'A' TO START"; he looked to Dave, "Ready?" he asked with a smirk. Dave smirked in return. "Striders are born ready." He said coolly. When John had come in first, and Dave in second, Dave's face was as blank as a stone. No expression. No let down. No anger. No sadness. "Rematch." He said after a few seconds. His word were cold. John chuckled, "You sound upset." He commented, pressing 'A' to race again. '5.. 4.. 3.. 2.. 1.. GO!' And so their second match began, and John was currently loosing terribly. Throughout the whole race, Dave had a perfect poker face on. At the end of the match, he had won. He smirked and leaned back against the couch. "That's more like it." He said coolly, acting as though he totally didn't just overreact back there. John rolled his eyes, "You know that only makes us even, not you better?" He asked teasingly.  
Dave smirked and looked at John. "Shall we play again?" He asked, already having a feeling he would win. "Your on." John stated. The two of them did this for a couple hours, until John looked at the clock.

"Oh, shit, Dave I never texted Karkat-" he was cut off by a knock at the door. Dave looked at John, and then at the door. "You sure?" He asked, smirk disappearing. Dave stood up, walking to the door, then stopped himself. He walked to the pile of smuppets he threw the weapons on and picked up a sword, hiding it behind him. He then walked over to the door, putting his hand on the doorknob. He glanced back at John, then opened the door, ready for whatever.

Standing there was Karkat. He gave a short wave, "Karkat? How did-" and then he cut John off, "You pocket dialed me, that's how I fucking knew. You two really should be more quiet when playing fucking videogames, listening to the voice-mail you left nearly blew up my fucking ear drum." Dave shrugged, and tossed the sword into a different pile of smuppets, and sat back down next to John, but didn't start another game. "If Karkat's here, that means soon Dirk will be too.. and that means..." Dave trailed off when he heard a loud movement coming from the kitchen. They looked over, but when they looked back at the TV, Lil' Cal was sitting on top of it. "Lil' Cal.." Dave grumbled. Karkat looked at the puppet that was on top of the TV and picked it up by it's head, ".. Someone fucking explain this to me." He said, looking over to John and Dave expectantly. John was staring at little Cal looking extremely freaked out.

Dave's eyes widened, he jumped up, and he put his hands out to Karkat. "Karkat. Gently. Place. The Goddamn. Puppet. Down." Dave said slowly, and walked slowly walking towards Karkat. Karkat raised an eyebrow, but did as he was told and placed 'Lil'Cal' back on the TV. "Now will someone fucking explain it to me?" He asked, and John piped up, "He's Dirk's puppet.." He summed it up in short, but young Vantas didn't look pleased by that explanation. Dave grabbed Karkat's arm and yanked him away from the puppet. "My brother has a bit of... an obsession with puppets.. one might say. Anyways, he should be leaving us alone now." Dave explained, and plopped back down on the couch. He wasn't surprised when 'Lil 'Cal disappeared when he blinked. He shrugged, and found another remote, turning it on and handing it to Karkat.

John grinned and turned to Dave, "Shall we reset the score so we can see, out of the three of us, who will best the rest?" He turned to Karkat when the other spoke, though. "Stop rhyming, fuckass. And there's no need, I'll fucking beat you both without any effort." Karkat stated simply, leaning against John slightly. The Egbert either didn't care or didn't notice and raised and eyebrow, "Oh really?" "Do you fucking really not know, Egbert?" Dave rose an eyebrow and smirked. "Ladies, ladies. No need to fight, we all know that you can't beat a Strider." Dave said coolly, putting his controller down in his lap and pointing to himself with his thumbs, before picking up the remote again and resetting the score, and added Karkat to the game. "Pft, fuck you, Strider-I'll have you fucking know I have _never_ lost a game of Mario Kart to fucking anyone while not under hug assault from fucking Nepeta, my little sister." Karkat smirked over at Dave from his comfy position on John's shoulder; the latter only chuckled at Karkat's boasting. John knew it was true, but it was still funny to imagine how someone most definitely counted those times Nepeta tackled him against him-probably someone like Sollux, one of Karkat's many brothers.

"Stop using your family as an excuse, or I just might have to use mine." Dave said smugly, quickly starting the game. "John, tell him it's not a fucking excuse." Karkat commanded, and John raised his hands, "I'll be staying passive in this fight, but I will say this; Nepeta absolutely loves to tackle _Karkitty_ into hugs." He stated, only to receive a glare from the troll next to him. Dave will admit, Karkat was a tough opponent, but Strider could handle him. "Are you sure you haven't ever lost to Egbert?" He asked, during the game. Karkat sighed and continued playing, "Yes, I'm fucking sure, Dave, else I wouldn't have fucking said I never lost unless Nepeta comes in." He stated as he crossed the finish line in '1st' place. Dave crossed the line, getting second. He stared at the screen for a moment. "I got distracted by 'Lil 'Cal over there." he said quickly, pointing to his right where 'Lil 'Cal had just appeared on a shelf. "Again." He demanded, not showing how he felt about it through his expression or emotion, just his words. Karkat was smirking smugly, not bothering to comment on the Strider's excuses. John smiled in an amused manner, finding the rivalry that was brewing quickly quite amusing. "I'm fucking ready for the next round whenever you are, Dave." Dave immediately started the game, not waiting for Egbert's chance to say he was ready. The game repeated this way for a while, with Dave coming in second and thinking up excuses over and over again with no hesitation, each one different. He was willing to pull an all-nighter to beat Karkat, because Strider's don't give up. They did take a break for piazza though.

* * *

It was around three in the morning, and the games still continued the same. Karkat had yet to loose, and Dave always came in second. John had dropped out a long time ago, though Strider nor Vantas had really noticed-or cared. It was getting intense. "Ready.. To fucking get your ass kicked in a new round, Strider?" Dave started dead at the Tv. "You sound a bit tired, Vantas." He said, and started the game immediately after he said that. He wasn't lying though. Karkat sounded extremely tired to him. "I don't hope you mind but we don't have an extra bed." he explained quickly as they were racing. Karkat nodded, though, he didn't stop nodding. He ended up nodding himself off to sleep atop of John's head, which was on his shoulder, seeing as the Egbert fell asleep earlier. It wasn't what it seemed-them sleeping on each other. It was completely platonic, talking in the sense of general human clarification. As Dave flew through the finish line in first place, Karkat's Wii remote slipped from his hands. He was officially fast asleep.

Dave jumped up and fist-pumped, until he noticed John and Karkat fell asleep and he groaned. "I can't accept this victory if it wasn't fair.." He mumbled. He plopped back down on the couch, slumping against it. Now that Karkat had fell asleep, he had nothing to do. Dave's eyes went drowsy. He sleepily pulled off his sunglasses, placing them carefully on the arm of the couch and dozed off into sleep, hoping he slept through school again.

But alas, Dave was not so lucky. It felt like something was poking his head. Hard. And repeatedly. And it wasn't stopping. Dave opened one of his eyes up just a crack so he could see. He looked to the arm of the couch and groaned. "I think my sunglasses fell." He mumbled. He closed his eye again fully, hoping he could go back to sleep. Though his eyes shot open again, because he realized Lil'Cal was RIGHT in front of his face. "Hug me, Dave." The puppet said-or at least, he seemed to say.  
Dave immediately shoved Lil' 'Cal away without a second thought. "What the- BRO WHAT THE HELL?!" He yelled angrily. He was obviously not happy at the intrusion of his personal space. Even worse, it was intruded my a puppet. He stood up, and got down on his knees, looking to see if his sunglasses fell underneath the couch. "Bro, did you do something to my shades?" Dirk snickered, pulling Lil'Cal away. He didn't get to answer before Dave inquired about his shades, which only made him smirk. "John took them to clean." He then leaned in to Dave's ear, "If you hurry to the kitchen, you might get to see him in an apron, still." He pulled back with a knowing smirk before seemingly disappearing.

Dave practically jumped up. He was about to walk into the kitchen, before a thought appeared. He turned to where Dirk used to stand. "Why would he need my glasses for cleaning?" He asked incase the other would answer from wherever he ran off to, only waiting a moment before shrugging and flash-stepping into the kitchen. He stood in his spot as he watched John, who was wearing an apron, struggling to put an apron on Karkat. Dave chuckled and leaned against a nearby wall. "Well then, it seems I managed to miss something important while sleeping." He said with a smirked, that quickly faded and he glared at John. "What did you do with my shades, John?" He asked, basically growling it. At this point he trusted Karkat and didn't give a shit if he sees Dave's eyes. I'm not saying that Dave trusted Mr. Jazz. Striders don't just 'trust' people in a matter of seconds. Dave just wanted to freak Mr. Jazz out.

Though, John didn't manage to hear Dave over the profanities Karkat was spewing as he rejected the apron. "FUCK, Egbert I swear I'll fucking make you mince meat if you don't fucking stop fucking around with the fucking APRONS!" "But Kaaarkat!" "NO JOHN." "Fine!" John huffed. Neither of the boys had noticed Dave, still, and John went back to the stove, continuing his cooking, while Karkat went over to a grocery bag and rummaged around and pulling out a bag of confectioner's sugar. "John," Karkat began, though fell quiet when he saw Dave, as did John when he turned around. The Egbert pulled at his apron, "Uhm, good morning, Dave. Do you need something?" He asked, having not heard Dave's earlier question. It wasn't long before Vantas finally spoke up as well, but his comment went ignored; "Fuck, your irises look like mine." Dave sighed when he realized his comments went unheard. "Where are my shades?" He asked, getting straight to the point, and ignored Karkat's captain-obvious comment on his eyes. Dave eyed the aprons a little bit from the corner of his eyes. _Did we always have those?_ He walked over next to John to see what he was making. He stared at it for a moment before looking back at John. "You know if we eat breakfast, we won't be able to get to school on time." He pointed out, before remembering school and his eyes flicking to a clock that hung on the wall, before sighing and looking back at John with a small smile. "We're already late." John smiles gently at Dave, "They're on the counter, I cleaned them for you." He informed, then frowned at Dave's last comment. He looked to the clock, his frown deepening, "O-Oh.." "Hey, dumbasses, you do know winter break started yesterday, ya fucking know." Karkat informed, and John perked, his expression brightening as he looked back to Dave, grinning, "Hear that, Dave? We can eat breakfast!" He said cheerfully, gazing into Dave's eyes.

Dave's smile lingered at the sight of John's happiness, but as soon as their eyes meet, his eyes were locked on John's. "Your eyes... are so blue.." He mumbled, and mentally slapped himself. He had opened his mouth to say thank you for cleaning his shades. Dammit Dave! Striders don't screw up! and you just did! John's smile slowly slipped as he was entranced by Dave's eyes. He absentmindedly nodded to the Strider's comment before mumbling one himself, "..Your eyes are.. Are like pools of liquid ruby.." Though, he was broken from his trance by Karkat's forced gags, as if he were about to hurl.

Dave shot a glare at Karkat, before moving to get his sunglasses, slipping them on his face. "Why didn't you just leave already." he mumbled, directed towards Karkat, his cool facade now regained with his sunglasses and stoic expression. Karkat smirked at Dave, "Because, your brother insisted I fucking stay, for.. Reasons I don't fucking think you want me to repeat in the current fucking company." He stated smoothly, glancing over at John, who looked confused, but shrugged it off and went back to cooking French Toast. The Vantas looked back to Dave, his smirk far too smug, "But I will if you fucking want." Dave rose an eyebrow. "My brother said it? I rather not know." He said immediately and bluntly. "Anyway, how about you get to work since you're already wearing that apron." He said with a smirk and walked back into the living room. Karkat blinked and looked down to find that he was, indeed, wearing an apron. "W-What the fuck!?" He shrieked, dropping the bag of confectioner's sugar to the ground. "Flash-step!" Dave yelled from the living room, where he sat back down on the couch he silent for a second. Karkat hissed, but didn't remove the apron before moving to help John by making some Maple Syrup from scratch.

"Dirk, aren't we going on vacation for winter break?" He asked, seeing as that was what they did every year in order to avoid the snow. Dirk walked in from another room and shook his head, "Nope. Not this time. John's not used to the heat, and Karkat already let me know you wouldn't let him take John-not that I suspected you would in the first place, little bro." Dave stared at his brother in disbelief. "Dirk. The snow." He said, horrified to even say those words. he glanced out the window and at the sky. "We need to stock up on food before it starts. Quickly." He said, getting up and grabbing a jacket so he could last in the cold weather. Dirk grabbed Dave's arm, "Dude. No. It's fine." He said calmly, taking Dave's coat off as John hopped into the living room, "The french toast is done!" He practically chirped. Dave's head shot over to where John stood. "How much did you get at the store? How cold was it? Does it look like it's going to snow?" Dave bombarded John with questions, only to not wait for any replies and turned on the tv, flipping through channels. "The news!" He yelled, then repeated it over and over under his breath so only he heard. He managed to get the right channel and stared at the screen, waiting for the weather report.

John blinked and stared at Dave. ".. Uhm, Dave, if you're that worried about the cold, I could just shop for you guys during the cold months." He offered and Karkat marched out, pulling Dave off the couch, "Come on, fuckers! The fucking toast is getting fucking cold!" Dave looked at John before getting pulled off of the couch. He sighed. "I guess I could stand a _little_ snow." He mumbled, not wanting to make Egbert shop for them. As soon as he finished, the weather report came on, and said the most ironic thing. "it seems that we will be getting hit with a Blizzard this year! get your snow suit ready, because we're expecting 36 feet of snow! A new world record!" The newscaster said cheerily, leaving Dave silent and staring at the Tv. "I'm not going outside this year." John smiled at Dave a bit, "I told you, don't worry, I'll go out for you." He assured as Karkat managed to drag Dave into the kitchen, "And like fuck he'll be going alone," the troll assured the Strider, inadvertently saying he'd be going with John. Dave sighed. "If you insist, I suppose." he said hesitantly, and when he saw the toast, he picked it up and ate it reluctantly and slowly, only to be surprised at the good taste. He still ate slowly though.

Karkat was staring at his with a hand on his hip, accompanied by a somewhat irritated and expecting look. John was next to him looking pleading and excited. When Dirk noticed them, he smirked gently, "It's good, wouldn't you say so, Dave?" He said to let his brother know of the two expecting cooks. Dave nodded after finishing off his toast. He had a light smile on his face, but it was unnoticeable. Unless you were staring very closely at his face and, particularly, his mouth. "My compliment to the chefs." John lit up like a light bulb and looked as if he wanted to hug Dave tightly, "Thanks, Dave~!" He chirped and Karkat smiled very small. "Yeah, thanks." He murmured, looking a bit pleased with himself. Dave nodded a second time. "Welcome." he mumbled. He wasn't lying though. It tasted grand. John grinned and raced around the kitchen happily, but also pointlessly, or so it seemed. He was actually racing around doing the dishes. It was odd.

* * *

Dave suddenly had an idea, and got up, walking around the house. He collect all the smuppets he could find, and put them in a giant pile, which then were moved into a giant bag. As soon as Dave saw it start snowing, he picked up the giant bag of smuppets, slung it over his shoulder, and walked up to the roof. He threw the bag off the side of the building and came back in the house, and plopped on the couch. "The reign of the smuppets is over. They shall soon be covered in tons of snow." He said victoriously. Everything fell silent after Dirk let out a melodramatic shriek of agony. Dave rolled his eyes. "You'll just end up making more.." he mumbled, not caring Karkat and John were there.

* * *

Most days followed a likewise routine to one mashed together of John's stay so far. He slowly regained his memory and slowly started acting differently, more as he did before the crash.  
Winter break did indeed bring lots and lots of snow, and Dave was in high protest of it all, but John and Karkat got even Bro to have some fun in it.  
It had been four weeks and two days since Karkat had opened the paths in John's mind, and the Egbert had yet to recall Dave, even though he seemed to remember everything else.  
Though currently, it was midnight and John was sitting in his bed, curled in pain as he held his head. It wasn't as bad as it had ever been, it was dulled, as it was a natural memory lapse. (Karkat had explained it all to him.) John was remembering the only thing he had left to remember-Dave. And with everything that was coming back, he wasn't sure to be happy or upset. Though hJojn knew one thing-the feelings he recalled he had for Dave were something he had wished stayed forgotten, because Dave was a friend, and your not supposed to love your friends that way. He shook slightly, this scared him, and he needed to get it out if his system. He stood, almost going to Karkat's makeshift bed job the spare room, but stopping as he recalled that the troll had gone home for Christmas and wouldn't be able to come back until New Years. And so, John went to Dave's room, knocking gently but shakily on the door. _Best to get this out to the person it's about so everything can just blow up at once, right?_

Dave groaned as he heard someone at his door. He sat up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. All he had was a pair of shorts on, but he wasn't worried it was anyone who'd care, since he knew who was in his house, and if it was a robber, they wouldn't knock on his door. "Come in." He mumbled loudly, but tried to be quiet as possible, in case he might wake someone up. He was expecting Dirk.

John carefully reached out and opened the door to Dave's room, walking in and towards Dave, stopping in front of him. He was quivering slightly, his fear and nervousness making no effort to his themselves from display, as they stood out in his eyes like a red bird in a lush green forest. "D-Dave.." Dave was surprised by John coming in, but his surprise was diminished by worry at the sound of John's voice. He grabbed John's arm and softly pulled him into the bed, and furthermore, into a hug. He pulled away slightly to look John in the face. "John.. what's wrong?" He asked, genuine worry in his voice and on his face. John didn't fight the hug, and actually hugged back a bit, though when they made eye contact his eyes grew teary. He burrowed his face in the crook of Dave's neck, "I-I r-remembered everything, D-Dave." He began, his voice shaky, "I-I remembered you and everything you have done for me and everything we'be done together.. And how amazing of a friend you were, no, are.." He blubbered out about everything he had remembered before pulling back a bit and looking Dave in the eyes, "A-and I also remembered.. With remembering you.. H-how much I loved.. And do love.. You." John sputtered softly, and without thinking, pulling Dave into a kiss. A voice in the back f his mind said rejection through the kiss would be easier to handle than verbal rejection.

Dave felt shocked at John's sudden confession and move, that it took him awhile to realize what was happening, and even when he did realize, he was hesitant to kiss back in fear of hurting John, but he didn't push him away either. He just sat there, shock on his face. John pulled back very slightly, only leaving about a centimeter between their lips, and clenched his eyes shut, processing everything, mainly the 'great you just fucked everything up'. "I'm so sorry, Dave." He whimpered slightly, sliding out of Dave's hug and standing, turning on his heel, and running out. He wasn't afraid to face the Strider, no, he simply knew he was going to cry for potentially fucking up their friendship so badly and didn't want Dave to see him and feel guilty. John left the house and ran, planning on going o his house, but unable to make it farther than the old abandoned train track that was now secluded by woods and covered in underbrush growth before he could run anymore. He sat down on the ground, mentally beating himself up.

Dave sighed and took a deep breath. He held back tears. "Dammit.. I gave him the wrong idea..." he mumbled, and plopped back in his bed. "Best to leave him to his thoughts.." He muttered. He grabbed his shades and slide them onto his face. "John.." He mumbled quietly before falling asleep, a tear rolling down his face.

* * *

It was rude, harsh banging on his bedroom door that woke Dave up the next morning. "I swear to fucking Gog, Strider! Open this fucking door!" It was evidently Karkat's loud yelling, who was probably let in by Dirk. "Urrggghhh.." Dave groaned. "Do it yourself. I had a ruff night." He mumbled. The door wasn't locked. Seeing as Dirk and Dave had a promise not to go into each other's rooms. He wondered why Karkat seemed to be yelling. Karkat opened the door and walked in, a box in his hands, seemingly calm. "Wake up, douchemuffin, I can't stay fucking long. I just got away from my fucking family long enough to bring you and John some fucking Christmas cookies. Where the fuck did Egbert go, anyway? Dirk said he should be in his room, but I checked and he wasn't there. Did he fucking tell you where he's be?" Dave immediately shot up, shades close to sliding off his nose. "John's not here? I thought he'd went back to his room after what happened.." He said, shocked. He jumped out of bed and pulled on a shirt hurriedly. "What time is it?" He asked, wondering if John had been out all night.

Karkat furrowed his eyebrows, but didn't question Dave on 'what happened'-he'd find out eventually. He was more worried about John, "8:30" he replied simply with the time. "So I guess that means you have no fucking idea where he is," he grumbled and pulled out his phone with one hand, texting the Egbert, only to hear his dorky ringtone from the other room. "And he doesn't have his fucking cellular." Dave stopped in his tracks after he pulled on a proper pair of pants. "Maybe we should let him be..." He muttered. "Let him.. you know.. be alone with his thoughts.." He said, and sat down on his bed. "I'm sure he doesn't want to see me whatsoever.." And then Karkat's idea to let Dave not explain went out the window. "What the fuck happened, Strider? And don't try to not fucking tell me, if you don't fucking explain, I'll make you."

Dave sighed and rubbed his temples. "John... kind of.. remembered me last night.." He mumbled, and then stayed silent for a few moments. "and then he kissed me." he added bluntly. Karkat stared silently, "Okay, so fucking far so fucking good," he commented in deadpan, "What happened then?" He asked. He had suspected Dave would have made the first move on John, but altering hearing it was John to kiss Dave after his memory returned three him off. "I was shocked, and didn't react. he ran away. The end." Dave muttered and leaned back onto his bed. "So I thought, I'll leave him alone." he mumbled. Dave sat up and rose an eyebrow at Karkat. "I thought I made myself clear when I said I was going to leave him to his thoughts." He said to Karkat, slight annoyance in his voice. "That's because you're a fucking idiot, now go fucking find fucking John." Karkat hissed dangerously. "Or do you want to fucking screw up John's mental state for a fucking while?" Dave frowned and sighed. "Gog, you're more persistent the Rose." He grumbled and stood up, flash-stepping into the hallway and turned on his glasses, contacting Rose and Jade on Pesterchum telling them to look for John, and that He's remembered everything. Dave decided that 'the place' would be the first place he checked, and flash-stepped away, to the outside. "Jegus, that's so damn far."  
Jade never received the message, as she had fallen asleep, but Rose went out looking as soon as she got the message-she was worried sick.  
Karkat smirked before heading out to look for John as well himself. The more people that looked for him, the less likely it was that he would get hurt.

* * *

John hadn't slept last night, and was curled into a ball next to the tracks. This was where the train wreck had happened. He touched the metal of the tracks that had been damaged during the wreck. It was abounded after the wreck and a new, more practically placed train track was constructed, though no one ever got around the removing the old one, so now it was over grown with plants. John sighed, shivering slightly. He'd run out into mid winter in his pajamas, which had been a bad idea. He couldn't bring himself to move enough to get to his house, or back to Dave's-but he didn't want to go back there, he didn't want to have a chance to break down in front of Dave or do something to make Dave hate him if he didn't already.

Dave wanted to visit John's house, but realizing John couldn't make it there in pajamas, he head to a place that is sort of a halfway point. He flash-stepped and made it there immediately. "The train station.." He muttered. It was the old abandoned one. With no sight of John, he decided to walk along the tracks in the direction of John's house. It wasn't long until he was at the place where the accident had happened, and he saw a blue ball. Dave's eyes widened and he sprinted over to the blue ball, and found his suspicions were correct. The blue ball was a person, and more specifically, it was John. He got down one knee and placed his hand gently on John. "Sorry about earlier.." He muttered quietly. "Are you.. okay?" He asked, not expecting John to reply.

John didn't hear anyone approaching, and nearly jumped out of his skin when someone placed a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Dave, and tense up back into his ball form. He frowned at the other and looked away, curling up more. "Don't be sorry." He mumbled, "I shouldn't have done that." He said quietly, though didn't respond to the 'Are you okay?', because in all honest he wasn't, and he wasn't going to lie to Dave. Dave frowned at John. "I should be sorry. It's me that out you into this situation. If I wasn't so damned shocked and tentative at that moment, We'd probably have gotten into some sloppy make out I'm so damn stupid because I let the perfect chance slip away from me and I hate myself for that, and I didn't want to face you, so I made up an excuse to leave you alone. I wouldn't be blabbering about this if Karkat didn't push me into finding you." Dave blabbered, and wanted to rant more but cut himself off after remembering John's state.

John stared at Dave and smiled very slightly, the smiles slowly growing. He was feeling much better just because of what Dave was saying. He opened his arms and giggled, "You're forgiven if you give me a big hug, Dave." He teased, feeling as if a giant load was lifted off him and instead he was picked up inside. Dave looked at John with wide eyes and surprise, before engulfing John in a tight hug. "I've loved you for so damn long.. then you went and forgot me.. and then you kissed me.." Dave tightened his arms around John. "I'm a whole trainwreck of feelings, John.. Look at what you do to me.." He muttered. He pulled away and looked at John in the face with a sad expression. "Don't forget me ever again." He mumbled, and rested his forehead against John's. John rubbed circles on Dave's back, smiling gently and rubbing his nose against The other's in an Eskimo kiss. "If it was my choice, I never would have forgotten you in the first place." He responded, butterflies fluttering in his belly a bit.

Dave smiled. A genuine smile, not a small smile, a normal sized smile. "Now, to make up for last night.." Dave trailed off and gently pressed his lips against John's. John's eyes fluttered closed and he wrapped his arm's around Dave's neck, kissing him back.


End file.
